>> tonight the brain of an nfl legend raises questions about football. seth doeane on what scientists found in junior seau's brain after he committed suicide. the front lines in the battle against the flu epidemic. >> our staff really have been pushed almost to the breaking point. >> michelle miller on who should go to the hospital and who shouldn't. major garrett reports on what the nra has to say about its meeting today with vice president biden. and a hurricane nearly blew them away. >> i was thinking about, you know, just closing up shop, taking my losses and moving on. but something told me to stay. >> pelley: but jersey had an answer for sandy captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

>> pelley: good evening. junior seau was one of the fiercest linebackers in the nfl. he had nearly 2,000 tackles on his way to 12 pro bowls and a super bowl. but retirement was even more punishing. saw au had emotional problems late in life that ended in suicide. and today researchers say that they found that seau who was only 43 years old was suffering from degenerative brain disease as the result of his career in america's favorite game. the findings add to a growing body of evidence that has the attention of players, parents and the nfl. seth doa ne has the seau report. >> reporter: junior seau was a star nfl linebacker for 20 years. last may, two years after retiring, he shot himself. this was his mother louisa. >> but i pray to god, please, take me! take me, leave my son! but it's too late, too late.

>> reporter: seau's family donated his brain for analysis because they suspected his suicide was linked to head injuries suffered on the field. today's report identifies brain abnormallities consistented with what is known as chronic, traumatic encephalopathy or cte which is caused by repetitive trauma to the brain. dr. russell lonz other oversaw the study. >> individuals that have been found to have cte in the past in some cases have exhibited behaviors such as impulsivity, irritability, aggression, memory loss and suicidal thoughts. >> reporter: seau is the fifth former nfl player to commit suicide, who was later found to have cf-- cte. more than 4,000 players have filed suit against the nfl for brain related injuries. the nfl has changed rules to discourage blows to the head. it has given a 30 million dollar research grant to the national institutes of

health that study medical conditions prominent in athletes. >> we need to better understand this. we need to have better awareness, better diagnostic capabilities. we need to find ways to assess this before someone passes away or diagnoses if. >> seau's family released a statement saying that they were deeply saddened that they suffered from such a debilitating condition. and scott the nfl say the findings underscore the need for additional research to better understand cte. >> thank you. >> there was another school shooting today. this time at a high school in taft, california, just over 100 miles north of los angeles. the sheriff says a student armed with a shotgun shot one classmate leaving him critically wounded. a teacher talked the shooter into putting the gun down. this happened on the very day that the vice president met with the nra. the vice president has been tasked with coming up with recommendations for curbing gun violence an major garrett is at the white house for us tonight, majer?

>> scott, there were no illusions on either side about what would come from the vice president's meeting with the national rifle association and other gun rights' groups. but for pure political and public relations reasons, neither side could ignore the other. they didn't, and deep differences remain. the meeting lasted more than 90 minutes. afterward we spoke with nra president david keene who did not attend the session with biden. he described the conversation as one-sided. >> we were disappointed in a sense, because prior to the meeting they made a number of statements from the white house that they haven't made up their mind. but at the meeting the vice president made it clear that in terms of firearms they have made up their mind. >> reporter: keene said the nra will take its lobbying might and growing membership list to congress to fight every item on the biden agenda from a reinstated assault weapons ban to a universal criminal and mental health background check and bans on high capacity ammunition magazines. the group also opposes increased federal research into gun violence, another biden priority.

>> i think there are a lot of people who would like to completely gut the second amendment, and to deprive americans of the rights that they enjoy under the second amendment. are they going to be able to do that? i don't think so. >> reporter: in a separate meeting with hunters and conservation groups mr. biden appealed for consensus. >> even if what we do only saves one life, it makes sense. and i think we can do a great deal without in any way imposing on or impinging on the rights of the second amendment, that the second amendment guarantees. >> reporter: nra says it knows after newtown they're facing a gun control debate unlike any in its history. and they may be more politically isolated than they were in 1994 when the assault weapons ban was first pushed tenaciously through congress by then senator joe biden. >> pelley: major thank you. major just mentioned the nra's growing membership. well, the nra told us today that it has attracted 100,000 new members since the newtown tragedy.

for total membership today of 4.2 million members. president obama today introduced his nominee for treasury secretary, white house chief of staff jack lew. the president said lew is a master of policy who can work with members of both parties. and about lew's now famous signature which would appear on the bills in your pocket, the president said that lew has promised him to make at least one letter legible in order to not debase our currency, the president said. the president is getting some criticism today for not his cabinet. and after this white house photograph appeared in the newspaper, showing the president meeting with top aides, all but one of them men, the white house quickly put out another photograph of the president with senior advisors including three women. with a little perspective on the president's cabinet picks we turn to our political director john dickerson.

john, what dow make of it? >> reporter: well, scott, there are a series of critiques here. some of the president's political allies think that he should acknowledge in his staff selections that he won re-election with the votes of women and minorities. other critics have pointed out that these all white male selections at the important departments of state, defense and treasury suggest a lack of diverse viewpoints in the second term. and yet another criticism is that these posts which are in the news almost daily send a bad signal about what is possible for anyone who is not already in the white male club. the president won re-election in part by relentlessly pressing mitt romney and republicans on every aspect of gender and race issues. he's now getting to experience what that's like. >> pelley: john, the president did prefer susan rice as an appointment, as the appointee for secretary of state to replace hillary clinton but the republicans didn't allow him to go forward with that. >> reporter: well, that's right. and white house aidees point right to that, susan rice was on the short list to be

secretary of state until she withdrew her name from nomination. and immediately aides said that put her on the short list some day to be national security advisor. that is a top job. she of course remains in the cabinet as do several other women and minorities. the president's closest and somewhat say most powerful advise certificate a woman, an african-american woman valerie jarrett and white house aidees point out that the white house has more women than men. they also say stay tuned, the president has more personnel decisions to announce. >> pelley: john, thanks very much. the cdc said today that the nationwide flu epidemic has now taken the lives of 20 children. flu is widespread in 45 states. the white housebreak is straining hospitals. and today the makers of flu vaccine and tamiflu say they are running short of both. michelle miller is in boston where a health care emergency has been declared. >> reporter: elsie santa wago-- santiago came to the emergency room at

massachusetts general hospital this morning. >> at 5:00 what did you feel. >> chills and shaky. >> reporter: she's one of 530 patients the hospital has diagnosed with the flu. that's four times more than they had at this point last year. santiago's asthma is only making her symptoms worse. >> so you went from being well in the morning to feeling the chills and by this morning, what happened? >> i wasn't breathing good. >> reporter: shortness of breath. >> uh-huh, i had to come here. >> reporter: did you know, i have the flu. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: what did you think was. >> my asthma. >> reporter: dr. paul bittenger runs massachusetts general's emergency department. he says they're nearing full capacity with the number of patients who have flu-like symptoms. >> 15 years you've been here, how would you rate this season. >> this is certainly among the worst flu season and it's really pushing it to our breaking point. >> reporter: he says part of the problem is people who

don't need emergency treatment are flooding hospitals making it harder to treat patients like elsie santiago. >> she's the person that you do want coming into the er. >> exactly right. if you have shortness of breath, some underlying illness that is being made more severe, come into the hospital. many other people can safely be managed at home, again taking fluidsing drinking as much as they can of clear liquides, ibuprofen and tylenol. >> reporter: massachusetts has confirmed some 6,000 cases of the flu. and immunized more than 750,000 people for free. now boston isn't reporting a vaccine shortage but the nearby town of somerville ran out of its supply earlier this week. scott, they got a new batch today. but only 100 doses. >> pelley: with six to eight weeks to go in flu season. thank you very much. there is a big change tonight for the 9 million americans who take the sleep aid ambien.

the government said today that the recommended dose for women should be cut in half. and a lower dose is recommended for men as well. dr. john lapook has been looking into this. john, what changed? >> well, scott, the active ingredient in am byen, the fda decision comes from lab studies that show eight hours after somebody takes a normal standard dose of ambien the drug levels in the blood are potentially capable of causing a driving problem in 15% of women and 3% of men. it's even higher in the extended form of the drug, that 33% of women and 25% of men. >> pelley: eight hours afterwards. >> eight hours later. >> pelley: there are other sleep medications on the market watch. about them? >> the fda specifically stressed this. any sleep medication has the potential to cause druzeiness and people need to think about this and adjust their taking of their medication accordingly. >> pelley: john, thanks very much. defense secondlyon panetta said today that he is very

concerned about what would happen to syria's chemical weapons if the dictator bashar al-assad is overthrown. panetta said there are no plans to send u.s. troops into the civil war there that has killed 60,000 so far. he said the u.s. has been talking to syria's neighbors including israel about how to keep those weapons out of the hands of terrorists. syria's civil war began as a popular uprising. the u.n. says more than 600,000 refugees have fled. many have gone to tur dee-- turkey an clarissa ward is there. >> reporter: this may look like a basement storefront, but hidden inside is a school for 500 children, all of them refugees from syria's civil war. we visited an english class. >> hello. >> hello! >> reporter: where we met 13-year-old omar. >> where are you from, omar? >> i'm from aleppo. >> from aleppo. >> yes. >> reporter: aleppo, syria's largest city has been

pounded for months by the syrian air force. whole neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. when the fighting 2k3w09 too close, omar and his family fled across the border to turkey. >> why did you come here? >> because bashar assad destroyed all syria and we come here to have a life, good life. >> reporter: another boy ali told us that he lost both of his hands and his left eye when a plane bombed his house. in a math class we wanted to know how many have lost someone in their family in the war. nearly a third raised their hands. principal zikwan da-yid taught history in sirria. he told us he was arrested three times by government forces before he fled to turkey. he said many of the children here are traumatized. they get frightened by loud noises, he told us. if someone bangs on the wall, they panic. they feel they are always under threat.

the turkish government allows the school to operate but doesn't provide anything else. textbooks are donated by a charity. and the teachers salaries are minimal. >> reporter: what is your dream for these children. >> that they get back to their country with their heads held high and rebuild their schools, he said. i want to try to give these kids what they have lost. >> pelley: but that will likely be some time. clarissa ward is joining us on the border of turkey and syria. clarissa what is the refugee situation there now? >> well, it's incredibly difficult, scott. the turkish government is really struggling to house this wave of refugees. they say that they've spent a billion dollars on trying to host them. there are currently more than 150,000 syrian refugees living here. but they simply can't build these camps quickly enough. and one result that you are starting to see because of

that is that there are now tens of thousands of syrian would-be refugees who are going along the turkish border but still stuck inside syria where that aid cannot reach them easily. >> pelley: clarissa, thank you very much. new rules to prevent another mortgage meltdown will make it harder to get a loan. and killer whales trapped in ice. what happened next when the "cbs evening news"ha what happened next when the "cbs evening news"ha continues. i did. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites.

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>> the worst financial crisis since the great depression was caused by bad mortgage debt. well today the consumer financial protection bureau put out rules to make sure it doesn't happen again. and mark strassmann has the go tails. >> reporter: in metro atlanta enchan ented forest neighborhood too often families bought homes they couldn't afford. what is left is a landscape of foreclosures and plummet property values. the man who bought this help you walked him through the process. >> that's right, educate about the closing process, the application process. >> reporter: andy schnegenberger showed us another neighborhood. first settled by freed slaved after the civil war. today working class families want to move in. schnegenberger directs fon profit groups like resources for communities which guide first-time buyers through the mortgage process. the folks that you typically deal with, give me a sense of who they are? >> so our member organizations work with families that are typically low to moderate income, you know, annual incomes of 30

to 50 to 60,000 dollars a year. >> reporter: the new rules are designed it to pro they can them from risky loans and the banks from borrowers taking a loan they cannot afford. they cap total debt payments at no more than 43% of a borrower's income. mandate a consumer's financial records be verified, ban interest only loans an limit large payments called balloons due at the end of a loan. but schnegenberger is also worried regulators could tinker with the rules by the end of the year. >> concerns about the details, for us, are high credit scores, the requirement of high credit scores and high down payment minimums. both of those would create real barriers for low and moderate income families seeking home ownership. squeeze them out potentially all together. >> yes. >> reporter: the new regulations take effect next year but scott many major lending institutions have already put them into practice. >> pelley: mark, thank you. and we'll be back in just a >> pelley: mark, thank you. and we'll be back in just a moment. but your erectile dysfunction -

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>> pelley: president putin who banned americans from adopting russian children has backed off a bit. his spokesman said today that the ban won't take affect until next year. good news for the more than 1500 american families currently in the process of adopting russian children. in northern canada a group of killer whales is finally free tonight. for two days about a dozen of them were trapped under the ice with barely enough room to come up for air. today a shift in the winds

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. >> pelley: finally tonight the boardwalk has been romant advertised in song as the place where lovers meet. in one community devastated by sandy, the bourd walk was the very heart of the town. elaine quijano now on what's being ton to get it beating again. >> want cheese on it. >> reporter: jimmy kamaris has opened his restaurant, jimmy's place in the jersey shore town of belmar every weekday morning since hurricane sandy hit ten weeks ago. did you think about walking away? >> i sure did. i really did. i was thinking about, you know, just closing up shop, taking my losses and moving on. but something told me to stay. >> we're here to help you out. >> god bless you. >> reporter: for three weeks he gave away food for free.

with power out and much of the town underwater, his restaurant powered by a generator was the only place to get a hot meal. >> it was scary. it was scary and nerve-racking to say the least. i think i fed off the people, i was feeding, i kind of fed off of them because they were so appreciative. i got strength from them, you know, to hang on. >> reporter: kamaris weathered through. and now jimmy's place is one of three businesses open near the belmar shore. the town is now working hard to help kamaris and other business owners get back on track. step one is rebuilding the boardwalk. matt dougherty is the mayor. >> we have about 140 mall businesses that are completely dependent on tourists that come to belmar in the summer. without the boardwalk, the beach, we wouldn't have the tourists and it would be devastating for those middle-class families that own those small businesses. >> it is like anything else when you lose something, you miss it and you want it back. and you want it in most

cases better than it was. but i think that's the thing to show that, you know, to show some resilience that you can't be beat, you can't beat us. >> kamaris has his eye on memorial day weekend. the official start of the summer tourist season. the mayor has promised the town's boardwalk will be back by then. kamaris is betting that his customers will be too. >> there is a lot on the line. and you know, if i go down, i go down. but i will go down fighting. >> reporter: sounds very jersey to me. >> yeah, it's jersey, jersey's strong. >> reporter: elaine quijano, cbs news, belmar, new jersey. >> pelley: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news, all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

high fever, non-productive cough. that is pretty much the flu. we're talking about 101, 102 fever. >> as the flu outbreak is just getting worse and worse, the bug is now burning up in 41 states including maryland and virginia. and with the flu now widespread in d.c. as well, what happens when you add to that mix a million visitors in town for the inauguration? well that's a question we asked the experts today. and scott broom reports from the washington hospital center talking about the answers. >> reporter: as this graphic photograph shows that it takes just one sneeze to very effectively infect everyone with about a six-foot radius with this nasty microscopic flu virus.